WASHINGTON — The federal government recognized President-elect Joe Biden as the “apparent winner” of the Nov. 3 election, formally starting the transition of power after President Donald Trump spent weeks testing the boundaries of American democracy. He relented after suffering yet more legal and procedural defeats in his seemingly futile effort to overturn the election with baseless claims of fraud.

Over the past few days, my social media feeds have been jam-packed with pictures and videos of COVID-19 testing lines that stretch multiple blocks. Some people report waiting hours for their turn, while others say they’re being turned away before ever getting the chance. It’s not just here in the New York metro area, either—similar delays are being reported around the country.

AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine is up to 90% effective, the company said Monday in a press release, making it the third pharmaceutical firm to report promising vaccine news, following Pfizer and Moderna. AstraZeneca, which partnered with University of Oxford researchers to develop its two-dose vaccine, reported efficacy from two different dosing regimens; one led to 62% efficacy and another to 90%, with an average, the company says, of 70%.

Michigan’s board of canvassers certified the state’s election results on Monday, throwing another roadblock in President Donald Trump's ongoing effort to challenge the results of the 2020 election.

Republican member Norman D. Shinkle abstained in the board's vote to certify the results. But his fellow Republican member Aaron Van Langevelde voted for certification, as did Democrats Jeannette Bradshaw and Julie Matuzak.

The “continuity of government” problem is an artifact of the nuclear age. What happens to the national command authority vested in the president—and what happens to nuclear deterrence—if a surprise attack decapitates the U.S. leadership? The fear of a first-strike targeting nuclear weapons against the president and others at the highest levels of the U.S. government led to many simulations and exercises, none of them very reassuring.

(YONKERS, N.Y.) — A co-founder of the social media ALS ice bucket challenge, which has raised more than $200 million worldwide for Lou Gehrig’s disease research, died Sunday at the age of 37, according to the ALS Association.

Pat Quinn was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, in 2013, a month after his 30th birthday, the organization said in a statement announcing his death.

WASHINGTON - The head of the U.S. effort to produce a coronavirus vaccine says the first immunizations could happen on Dec. 12.

A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee is set to meet Dec. 10 to discuss Pfizer Inc.’s request for an emergency use authorization for its developing COVID-19 vaccine.

Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech recently announced that the vaccine appears 95% effective at preventing mild to severe COVID-19 disease in a large, ongoing study.

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(LONDON) — AstraZeneca said Monday that late-stage trials showed that its COVID-19 vaccine with Oxford University was up to 90% effective in preventing disease.

The results are based on interim analysis of trials in the U.K. and Brazil of a vaccine developed by Oxford University and manufactured by AstraZeneca. No hospitalizations or severe cases of COVID-19 were reported in those receiving the vaccine, AstraZeneca said.

The trial looked at two different dosing regimens.

(WAUWATOSA, Wis.) — A 15-year-old boy was arrested in connection to a shooting at a suburban Milwaukee mall that injured eight people, authorities said Sunday.

Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber said the shooting happened during a dispute Friday afternoon between two groups. He said four “innocent bystanders" suffered what were believed to be non-life threatening injuries. Investigators said the suspect ran out of the mall alongside other people.

U.S. health officials Saturday agreed to allow emergency use of a second antibody drug to help the immune system fight COVID-19, an experimental medicine that President Donald Trump was given when he was sickened last month.

The Food and Drug Administration authorized use of the Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. drug to try to prevent hospitalization and worsening disease from developing in patients with mild-to-moderate symptoms.

The drug is given as a one-time treatment through an IV.